Stacey Solomon begins filming her ‘Kardashian style’ family reality show at Kent safari park as she’s billed as BBC’s ‘new golden girl’ after stepping back from other work commitments

Smiling for the cameras, television star Stacey Solomon enjoy a family day out to a safari park.

Sitting in the back of a jeep at Port Lympne animal reserve on Thursday, they met rhinos, a giraffe and cheetahs.

But it wasn’t any ordinary visit, Ms Solomon, 35, was there to film for her new Kardashian-style reality show for the BBC named Escape to Pickle Cottage – the name of her home in Essex.

She and husband Joe Swash have signed a lucrative deal with the Corporation after chiefs there realised just how popular Ms Solomon has become. 

They are also thrilled with the success of her show Sort Your Life Out which sees her and her team help families transform their homes. 

Along with Ms Solomon and Joe Swash, who married in 2022, their children Zach, 16, Harry, 16, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, two, and Belle, 20 months, will be making appearances 

Ms Solomon, 35, was there to film for her new Kardashian-style reality show for the BBC named Escape to Pickle Cottage – the name of her home in Essex

With a life-changing declutter, they upcycle and recycle their way to a new home.

Insiders at the network say that bosses view her as their ‘new golden girl’ due to her ‘relatability.’ 

She also has a huge following, particularly of young viewers which the BBC are so keen to attract.

Along with the television couple, who married in 2022, their children Zach, 16, Harry, 16, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, two, and Belle, 20 months, will be making appearances on the show.

The first, it seems, their trip to Port Lympne – a favourite attraction with the likes of Holly Willoughby, Boris and Carrie Johnson and former footballer Rio Ferdinand.

One source said: ‘The Solomon/Swash family love animals and that will be a central part of their show when it airs.

‘There seemed nowhere better to go to film a day out than Port Lympne. The kids looked like they were loving their day out.

‘It is exactly the lovely kind of content which they will be putting on Escape to Pickle Cottage which is hoped to become a huge reality show, similar to the Kardashians in the US. It will feature Stacey and Joe’s big blended family.’

‘There are really high hopes for the show.’

She and husband Mr Swash signed a lucrative deal with the Corporation after chiefs there realised just how popular Ms Solomon has become

Insiders at the network say that bosses view Ms Solomon as their ‘new golden girl’ due to her ‘relatability’

Ms Solomon also has a huge following, particularly of young viewers which the BBC are so keen to attract

The first scenes show their trip to Port Lympne – a favourite attraction with the likes of Holly Willoughby, Boris and Carrie Johnson and former footballer Rio Ferdinand

One source said: ‘The Solomon/Swash family love animals and that will be a central part of their show when it airs’

The insider added: ‘There seemed nowhere better to go to film a day out than Port Lympne. The kids looked like they were loving their day out’

Ms Solomon, who catapulted to fame on the X Factor in 2009, recently stepped back from ITV show Loose Women. 

The star was noticeably absent from the 25th anniversary portrait of the ITV show which honoured its current stars. 

Despite having appeared on Loose Women more than 350 times, Ms Solomon’s single appearance this year on the panel came in June, and prior to that she appeared in December 2023.

In 2023, Ms Solomon’s only other appearance on the show came in November, seven months after she gave birth to her youngest but at that time had she had not featured regularly for more than 18 months.

But by this time, she had already been featured as a judge on Bake Off: The Professionals, taking over from comedian Tom Allen.

Linda Robson, who was Ms Solomon’s only co-star to attend her Pickle Cottage wedding in 2022, explained to The Sun that the mum of five is ‘too busy’ to return to a full time job as she has her hands full with various other projects.

She said: ‘I would love her to come back, she’s a really good Loose Woman – she’s really honest. But I think she’s got too much on.

‘She’s got her own series and her and Joe are out in their little house. She’s still really welcome but she’s just so busy.’

The source continued: ‘It is exactly the lovely kind of content which they will be putting on Escape to Pickle Cottage which is hoped to become a huge show, similar to the Kardashians’

The insider continued: ‘It will feature Stacey and Joe’s big blended family. There are really high hopes for the show.’

The group seemed in good spirits as they watched the giraffes from their safari jeep 

Stacey looked on in awe at the wildlife as a camera crew followed her every move 

BBC bosses are hoping to replicate the success of Kardashians (L-R Khloe, Kourtney, Kim Kardashian, Kris, Kendall and Kylie Jenner on the season five promo poster) 

Up until 2021, it had not been uncommon for Ms Solomon’s to appear up to three times a week but she has featured less and less in more recent times.

She is also reported to have quit her show Renovation Rescue which aired on Channel 4.

Sources say that she is now focused on the BBC and is expected to take part more of their programmes in the future.

In May, the star revealed her dream was to quit TV work entirely to spend time with her five children and explained that she only wanted to take on work that she could do from home.

But she gave fans some hope by hinting that she could always be tempted back to TV screens to work on a passion project.

Discussing her work on the Glad We Had This Chat podcast, Ms Solomon explained she wanted to spend more time with of her children and has had to reconsider her work commitments.

‘Each year I have a team meeting with my agent and everyone on the team to say, “What’s your plan, what’s your goals, blah, blah, blah”,’ she explained.

‘And this year when they asked me my five-year goals, I was like “I want to be a stay-at-home mum”.

Ms Solomon, who grew up in Dagenham, Essex, also won ITV reality series I’m A Celeb in 2010, two years after Mr Swash was also crowned king of the jungle.

Ms Solmon and Mr Swash are opening the doors to their sprawling £1.2 million Essex home which they have called Pickle Cottage 

BBC bosses are said to be thrilled with the success of her show Sort Your Life Out which sees her and her team help families transform their homes

Ms Solomon recently stepped back from ITV show Loose Women. The star was noticeably absent from the 25th anniversary portrait of the ITV show which honoured its current stars (L-R) Kelly Holmes, Denise Welch, Coleen Nolan, Christine Lampard, Olivia Attwood-Dack, Judi Love, Linda Robson, Nadia Sawalha, Kaye Adams, Jane Moore, Kelle Bryan, Charlene White, Brenda Edwards, Frankie Bridge, Janet Street-Porter, Ruth Langsford, Katie Piper and Sunetra Sarker